Pontiac schools Superintentent Brian Dougherty at Pontiac High School after a suspicious package was found at the school and the students were evacuated. Tuesday, April 30, 2013 The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON

In the midst of a financial crisis, the Pontiac Board of Education must now decide once again who will lead the district through the next crucial steps.

National and state education leaders point to such turnover as a major factor in instability in a school district and hurtful to student achivement.

Superintendent Brian Dougherty, who resigned effective May 17 after less than a year in the district, and who left after an exit interview Friday, was one in a long line of superintendents and interims who have led the district for only short terms.

In fact, state Superintendent Michael Flanagan pointed out "the long history of turnover" as part of a a critical preliminary review of the district that could lead to an emergency manager.

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"The district has a long history of turnover in administrative leadership, which does not provide for consistent, stable, and ongoing implementation of a deficit elimination plan," Flanagan said in the written report sent to the Pontiac Board of Education May 8.

Besides the turnover in superintendents, Flanagan noted, the distroit also has had an interim business manager, Paul Bryand from Plante and Moran, since June 2011.

Dougherty was the seventh person to serve in the top job in 10 years and the 12th person in that position in the past 20 years.

As assistant superintendent to Dougherty, Kelley Williams has automatically taken on the role of acting superintendent, with former superintendent Walter Burt as consultant, said Board President Caroll Turpin.

The board will likely vote to name an interim Monday, May 20, Turpin said. Then the search for a permanent superintendent will start again -- unless the board and/or the state decide an emergency manager or some other option is the answer.

All Pontiac superintendents have found the leadership role challenging in the urban district, which has declined in enrollment from about 20,000 two decades ago to about 4,700 this year; and they have had issues with achievement and finances for most of those years.

At a time when it is difficult to find a qualified superintendent for any district, it is even more difficult to find someone to take on a leadership position in an urban district.

A 2011 survey by the American Association of School Administrators found that 50 percent of working superintendents planned to retire by 2016, according to an article on the TakePart education website, www.takepart.com, "A Superintendent Shortage Is Shaking Up America's Schools."

"Retirement age in most states is 55 and the average superintendent is 54 years old," according to the article.

"Another reason for the exodus of veteran school chiefs since 2008 is the economic recession," according to the article.

"Forced to make unpopular decisions -- cuts in staff, increased class sizes, and the elimination of non-essential programs -- superintendents reported experiencing such an intense backlash from parents, board members, mayors and the community at large, that many decided to retire."

Another article, this one on the DistrictAdministration website at www.districtadministration.com, indicates the average length of time an urban superintendent serves increased from 2.3 years in 1999 to 3.6 years in 2010.

Dan Domenech, executive director of the AASA, was quoted as saying, "...one of the key elements in running a successful district is stability.

"So if you have a revolving door, it's counterproductive, and there's never a chance to establish reforms or create programs that make a difference. Even a three-year period of time is inadequate," Domenech is quoted as saying.

At the Pontiac school district, there has been no long-serving person in the top position since Odell Nails, the district's first black superintendent, retired in 1987 after nine years.

The longest serving superintendent was Dana Whitmer, who preceded Nails and who retired in 1978 after 24 years.

Following are the superintendents who have served since 1990, in chronological order include the following:

Superintendent LaBarbara Gragg, the first female superintendent in Oakland County, served five years, the longest term since Nails. She left in 1993 after one teachers' strike and four years of deficits.

Former Northern High School Prinicpal E. Darryl Lee became interim superintendent until February 1994, when Sam Abram became the new superintendent.

Abram was put on a leave of absence in April 1998, and James Hawkins filled in as interim until Walter Burt was named superintendent in 1999.

Burt resigned in 2002, when his contract expired, to take a job in San Francisco.

At that point, Mildred Mason, who Burt had brought to the district to revise and revitalize curriculum, became interim. Then, in September 2003, Mason was named superintendent and focused on curriculum alignment efforts.

After the two finalists for the superintendent's job dropped out, the board brought in Linda Paramore, a consultant from Oakland Schools, as interim; and Felix Chow, a consultant from Oakland Schools, as chief financial officer.

After a year and another search, the board then named Thomas Maridada III, who had been Michigan Superintendent of the Year, when he was in Inkster the year before, to take over the helm of Pontiac schools.

Maridada initiated several high level programs for current students as well as to bring back students who had left for charter schools and other districts under Schools of Choice. But he was there only two years.

When Maridada resigned in summer 2011, Jon Brown, a retired principal, was brought in as interim.

After an investigation under Brown's administration found the district's deficit had doubled from $12 million to more than $24 million in two years, a frustrated board then brought back former Superintendent Burt as interim to help the district come up with an amended deficit elimination plan the state would approve.

Burt is associate professor of educational leadership in Western Michigan University's Department of Educational Leadership, Research & Technology.

During the time Burt was interim, another national search for a permanent superintendent was conducted by a consulting firm.

Dougherty was one of two finalists and was named to the top position after site visits by board members.

He said when he took over leadership of the district, he was told the deficit was $24 million, but as it turned out, an audit completed four months late showed the deficit was actually $37.7 million.